[expectations]

As i take stock of the year, about what i have managed to accomplish, i'm thankful for every good creative day we have been through. Life is strange right - we spend most of our time at work, earning the moolah to be able to enjoy a certain lifestyle. But often, due to the time needed to be spent at work, we are too tired and spent to be able to enjoy any lifestyle! the irony. That is why we have never regretted stopping the humdrum of 'normal' work to embark on our own practice. It has been at times scary, often worrying, but the satisfaction of devoting all your time into something that is not just purely utilitarian (ie, just to provide an income), is indescribably fulfilling. Even though i have always enjoyed my work, to be able to plan out each day in the most creative way, to be able to have the freedom to explore all sorts of creative pursuits, this is what everybody should be given a choice to do! In anycase, we are thankful for our everlasting supporters, our great friends and family and all the people that have always believed in us. :)
Heh... i'll stop rambling (this is what blogging at 5am brings about!)

This arrived yesterday!!!Yup, my brand new (old) Gocco machine!!! with lots and lots of different coloured ink.
I can't wait to get started - it came without bulbs though, so i have to order online and wait for that to arrive! :)
A work in progress for a 1st birthday album. This is based on my previous design HERE.
That little handprint is courtesy of K. :)

[not much talking]

We went to City hall yesterday for a little kid's biennale.... it's a bit of a disappointment to us, who were expecting to see more interesting artworks, but was just greeted with room after room of ikea decorated spaces. O well, G and K loved it though, just give them some toys and a big space, who cares abt highbrow art!
Some pics outside the building...
G calls us the "jeans" family!On the red carpet.
Love these 'top down' shots that V took!
More pics of G
cannot stand still.
finally, a good one! :)
Some WIP crafting - these are embroidered covers for the big (264pics) photo albums.
Do you like my new fabric?
More new fabric
Customised orders for a fantastic client!
More customised work....
Early Xmas orders.. (let me know if you would like my newsletter - i'm offering a discount for the month of oct! )
G's teacher commissioned these 3 bible covers for her 3 daughters. I love doing customised work! And they are all done and wrapped over the weekend :) The most difficult thing to do will be to keep these under wraps until xmas!!!
More pics of the embroidered work can be seen HERE.

[like a newborn]

This is probably the last picture of me in glasses (taken the night before the op, goofing around with photobooth with K)
Yup! i went for the lasik op yesterday morning. I was at the doctor's clinic at 11am, and the op was over in just under 15min! I'm still amazed at how quick everything took place. Me, the super scaredy cat that was procrastinating this op for the longest time, as i was unsure of the whole procedure, the risks involved etc. All i can say is that now i'm still marvelling at the 'high-tech'ness of it all, a bit like going on an airplane and knowing full well that technological advnances have made the flight 99.9999% safe, yet still with that niggling "what if" anxiety. Well, i'm sure glad i did it!!!! I'm now typing this at 5am in the morning (yup, sleeping pills and afternoon naps sure screw up my sleeping cycles!) and i woke up with PERFECT eyesight. As another friend who has also done lasik told me - you feel like a newborn, able to see with clarity the minute you open your eyes! How true!! :)
So, more posts when i can finally take pics of myself without glasses!!!

Over the weekend, as G napped, what did we do? Dress K up in a schoolbag and made her pretend to 'ride' to school! heh heh....
Here she is with the cutest backpack ever!
O and she's started taking more and more steps...
Sometimes falling flat down on her bump....
Okay! i'm on the car, going to school now!
She does this handsign - like a "7" whenever she calls daddy..
Top view :)
A sneak peek at some bible covers that are on order!
:)
More of the crafty stuff later today!

[more crafting]

I love taking public transport! more time on hand to do my crafting. These are some albums made while on the tube to and fro site. The journey lasts around 20min, just the right timeframe for my eyes not to get too tired staring at little stitches. I found that they are great conversation starters too! More often than not, people who sit next to me will start a conversation by asking when i'm making. This could go on sometimes for the whole of my journey! Luckily i am able to multi-task! heh heh... i enjoy my chance conversations though, discovering that people are interested in the same sort of things that i am.
So, here are the latest creations :
a commissioned piece, delivering tonight
this is the inside back cover
embroidered the little girl's name and birthdate
i 'heart' spines!
Another album cover - i love that pink fabric and the vibrant red!
Baby - an extremely young child
celebrate!
More felt cheque book covers - this is a gift (please email me if you would like to buy 1!)
inside pocket for knick knacks
my label...
some crazy round about sewing done while waiting for my eye evaluation yesterday
heh, yup, it's upside down.... :P
Some work in progress - i'm going to add more buttons and more stitching to this piece.
Detail of the yummy fabrics!
Another work in progress - i usually have 1 or 2 of these w-i-p pieces to relieve the boredom of always working on the same piece.
more of these notebooks completed - they are all OOAK - the whole series can be found on my flickr site.
Yay! all done... i love pics like these :P
sense of accomplishment.... off to their new owner soon... :)

this came in the post last week - how wonderfully packaged and so pretty! :) Thanks so much WISHCAKE - do visit her shop HERE, she makes the most wonderful stuff!!!!
More pics of these notebooks have been added HERE.

in other notes - V has been hard at work trying to get our work blog up and running. He's finally managed to get it uploaded! I'll put a permanently link on the sidebar, but in the meantime, do go and browse HERE!